“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey

everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to

the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commissionis for all Christians.We need to make

disciples that make more disciples!

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  For the

time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the

truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the

work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

2 Timothy 4:2-5

Being prepared means having a plan

to reach out to others. Do you have

a plan for making disciples?

How is that plan working? We have

orders - a mission to accomplish!

Some people do not have sound doctrine so we need to give people the

truth. Think of yourself like a microphone – we are NOT the speaking voice – a microphone can do nothing on its own but we are the conduit by which

the message is delivered. We don’t make up the message or how it is being said, we just transmit the message of the

Word of God.

We stand up for Jesus – be prepared in season and out of season. We volunteer to

serve God in the battle against evil! We must be prepared and count the cost of serving God! We

must offer ourselves to God for His service.

 ”Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have

seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with

tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched

your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And

who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:5-8

Like Isaiah 6:8 says, here am I, send me. Even when we are

people of unclean lips, God purifies us and uses

us. We must not be discouraged because

God is with us!

I am here today to talk about 4th Day Ministries

Our website is:4thdaynow.com

The name 4th Day Ministries comes from Keryx and other 3-day weekends (like Cursillo, Via Da Christo, Emmaus, etc.) that many people attend; your 4th day starts after the weekend is over and continues for the remainder of your life. Your

spiritual walk grows after attending one of these weekends where your life is transformed by the

power of the Holy Spirit. Not only do you become a disciple and follower of Christ, but you encourage others to become disciples, also. It is all about disciples, that make disciples, that make

more disciples.

The idea for starting a ministry like this came to me several years ago but the time did not seem right to launch it. Last spring, I had a meeting with Gary VanSickle and he brought up the subject again and so I started praying more intensely about it. I felt like God was telling me to move forward with the idea. After talking with my pastor, Jim Jordan, he encouraged me to contact our church’s district office and to apply for a special lay ministry license. I completed the necessary paperwork and in July, I was granted a ministry license from my denomination, for prison and related general ministry.

Since then, a number of things have happened and

to some extent, it has taken on a life of its own.

#1 GoalHold a Keryx In Community weekend in the greater metro Detroit area. So many

inmates have asked about their family members experiencing a Keryx weekend, and of course many of them are from the

Detroit area. To our knowledge, there very few 3-day weekends in the Detroit area, and certainly none are aimed at ministering to families and friends of

inmates.

We also would like to include more minority team members

as we minister inside the prisons. So, we would like to have Keryx weekends in the Detroit area and engage as

many minority people as possible.

#2 To get people into an accountability group

(reunion group, or a prayer and share group) after they have completed a weekend. As we have evaluated our KIC weekends, this is one area where we have fallen short. Many of the candidates that attend a KIC weekend are not

from the same local area. That means that after a weekend is finished, they go back to their local community and they do not have

anyone to group with on a regular basis.

An idea to help solve this issue is to create a website where you can register your weekly group. There are thousands of people who have completed various types of 3-day weekends and they are meeting in groups throughout the state but there is no way to connect with each other. That is why one important goal is to make the 4th Day website a place where you can go and find a group if you are looking to join one, and also a place to register your weekly group by providing information about the place, a contact person, and a phone number or an email address. That way, someone who is looking for a group could find one anywhere throughout the state.

Other Ideas - Secondary Goals

• Pre-weekend and post-weekend instructions for sponsors of candidates of KIC weekends.

• Bible study resource materials to be used in weekly groupings.

• Announcements of local Ultreyas being held throughout the state so the Keryx community is strengthened.

• Continue the publication of the Spiritual Tool Kit so that each person that completes a weekend gets a copy of this devotional. Also, expand the present 2-month edition to a full year’s worth of devotionals, Bible studies, and monthly self-examination.

• Establish a youth edition of a KIC weekend (modeled upon MYCA weekends) to be held in Metro-Detroit that targets high school and college-aged students.

• Establish a program called “My Street” to help individuals reach out to people on your street with a positive message of Christ and making sure that each community is gets the message – something like the Jehovah Witnesses who go door-to-door in various neighborhoods.

• Identify at least one church in each Michigan county that would be open to assist released offenders that have completed a Keryx weekend on the inside. Many ex-offenders are NOT welcomed in local churches because many are registered sex offenders.

• Post prayer request and praise reports on the 4th Day website.

• Post messages and sermons about spiritual renewal and encouragement on the website.

• Create links to other like-minded ministries.

One danger that we face is trying to move in too many directions at the same time. It will not be a one-person job and will require many

dedicated people to work in various areas to get each job done.

There are probably other initiatives that will be needed to

help accomplish the Great Commission. It seems impossible for us - but with God, all things are

possible!

Your challenge today is to get involved in making

more disciples.What can you do?

What are you doing?

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and

make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with

you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20Matthew 28:18-20